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March 01, 2015

Charlie Hebdo now has 25 times as many subscribers as before deadly attack

Prior to the attack at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris on Jan. 7, when two gunmen stormed the magazine's office and killed 12, the satirical publication had a print run of between 24,000 and 50,000 copies a week, with 8,000 subscribers.

On Wednesday, some 2.5 million copies of the latest issue hit stands, and Charlie Hebdo has more than 200,000 subscribers. The cover features French politician Marine Le Pen; former French President Nicolas Sarkozy; and a bishop, a jihadi, a banker and a TV news crew, portrayed as a pack of baying hounds. The cover line, "C'est Reparti" ("Here we go again"), drives home the idea of a fresh start.

Many of the Parisians who Mashable spoke with in the days following the January attack vowed to subscribe to the magazine in a show of support, and it seems they've made good on those promises.

The editorial team, which is operating from a corner of French newspaper Libération's office while their own is being repaired and secured, is trying to establish how the magazine can make the most of this outpouring of public support.

The new subscribers — and the accompanying funds — are helping to boost Charlie Hebdo's coffers, but editors are keen to remain independent.

“We have to hold on to the spirit we had before,” the magazine's new editor, Laurent Sourisseau (a.k.a. "Riss"), told a radio phone-in recently.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, there is talk of a rift among the staff. Many have called for the publication's owners to give up their shares and place the paper into the hands of all its employees, while others disagree.

"I don't think

"Money can make people crazy."

For now, it's business as usual, as the presence of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn within its pages attests. (See here for Strauss-Kahn's thoughts on orgies.)

The first issue of Charlie Hebdo following the attack, known as the survivors' issue and featured the prophet Muhammed on the cover, sold 8 million copies as queues formed in France an dEngland.